Throughout high school, I have always looked up to guys (and gals) who were older than I was.

Why this was, I do not know.

Well, I probably have some clue. Teenagers (especially girls) tend to look up to people who are older than they are, people with more experience, people who can look after them, etc. Plus, making friends with the upperclassmen is always a definite plus–you get to hear confidential advice about school and life!

(or maybe hanging out with seniors when you were a freshman was just…you know, cool)

Now that I’m a senior myself, though, I have no new people to meet anymore…except the *gulp* underclassmen.

Yep, that freshman who started a food fight in the cafeteria the other day. Those sophomores who blocked the hallway between classes. The junior who sits in my AP Calculus class…wait, huh?

He is in Student Council as well, both last year and this year. Yet I can’t say I’ve noticed him quite that often. Maybe I was too busy gawking at the senior class president during last year’s meetings.

But now, I have a crush on this junior class genius. Cute brown hair and hazel eyes.

Yikes, I’m in love with…someone younger than I am?

I feel it is slightly unacceptable to stalk through a younger male’s Facebook profile. Then again, it’s just a fun crush. Besides, there are many women out there who are married to younger men, am I right?

First of all, why do the majority of songs today cease to sound as sweet and innocent as past ones? From the inappropriate lyrics from “Kiss N Tell” by Ke$ha to the suggestive “Three” by Britney Spears, it’s a wonder why our generation has “gone down the tubes.” (Whatever happened to the PG songs like “Oops I Did It Again,” Britney??)

And don’t get me started on rap music. Some people may like it, but I like traditional instrumental music and sounds. A little techno twist here and there is cool, but come on now. (And who is this “Shawty” person we keep hearing about in 98.5% of rap songs?)

Now, here’s a video of a popular song from the past generation (well, the past decade, give or take a few years). I believe the mannequins are based on real guys, especially the last male mannequin–looks very realistic, no?

The Minnesota Planetarium Society and various astronomers have recently changed the familiar zodiac sign everyone knew.

Because of the moon’s gravitational pull, there is a one-month misalignment in the “stars’ alignments.” This means that we have misinterpreted our zodiac signs for centuries, and a 13th sign is being added to the calendar: Ophiuchus. Apparently, the ancient Babylons (dated 3000 B.C.) always knew about Ophiuchus; they had simply thrown this 13th sign out in order to accommodate the 12-month calendar we use to this day. It’s no surprise that throughout the millennium, the positions of planets and stars have shifted. As astronomer Parke Kunkle said, “We’re off by about 10 degrees or so, a twelfth of the way around.”

So what does this mean? It means we have read the wrong horoscopes all along. Those times we avoided an interview because it wasn’t a good day for Capricorns. Those days we wore red and befriended a stranger because Virgos were blessed by Mercury. Those times we made a difference because Uranus sent every Aquarius “energy.”And yes, we have the wrong birthstone on our bracelets.

Psychology has disproved astrology again and again, but no one listens, of course–astrology vs psychology, come on! On a serious note, this recent zodiac change proves exactly why horoscopes are pure myth. Surveys have discovered that 95% of the time, a person cannot pick out his horoscope from an untitled list. Try it yourself: open the newspaper or go to an online horoscope page and read a random horoscope from a different sign. Doesn’t this horoscope seem like it could apply to you, too?

Here are a few of today’s horoscopes I have gathered from a reliable, popular horoscopes website. See which one(s) apply to you.

Your ego may be in for some trouble today, but it’s nothing you can’t handle with your typical aplomb. See if you can absorb any criticism in the spirit in which it is intended! Life does get better.

You need to be careful today — it’s all too easy to overindulge. It’s not just you, either, so you may want to try to remove temptations from the home or office so others don’t go down with you.

Too much outside influence exists in your life right now — ignore what others say.

Your rare combination of wild energy and emotional security can make for some interesting times today. You may want to embark on a new romance or see if your boss agrees about your talents.

See the point? (and in case you wanted to know, the signs were Leo, Libra, Gemini, and Scorpio, respectively)

Of course, a little fun never hurts. As long as you don’t completely engross yourself in horoscopes and “star signs”, then you are fine. I have known people who are quite superstitious when it comes to astrology (not including astrologists, of course).

As for now, I only wish I was still a Sagittarius (“an intelligent, creative mind”) instead of a Ophiuchus (“a person of medicine and high learning”). Curiously, the Sagittarius description matched mine perfectly. But then again, there are probably other signs that fit me as well–I never actually took the time to read them.

Icy geometric shapes lie in cold heaps.
Frozen rain gathers on the top,
Forming a cocoon of crystallized waters.
Homemade sleds of broken tires and cardboard
Race down icy hills of the subdivision.
Laughter, a dog’s bark, and a runny nose
Accompany the bittersweet cold as the clouds look on.

Snapshots of mittens and snowmen in scarves
Flood family albums and email attachments.
Mama is cooking her famous roast chicken again–
The aroma of stir-fry vegetables fill the warm house.

Look out for the frozen pond,
Where the winter geese have long abandoned.
School remains deserted amidst the empty traffic.
Skate across the ice and snow in boots or sneakers;
Close your eyes and imagine the swirl of snowflakes again,
Sipping in the cold, sweet air as you teeter, lose balance,
And fall into the heaps of icy squares and circles.

Ah, Facebook. The website where all your friends chat, post pictures of their wonderful days, and of course, update their statuses.

Typical status updates are “Had fun at the BBQ with *insert BFF’s name here*” and “Going skiing tomorrow!”

But amidst these include the atypical status updates…the ones that make you cringe…the ones that are extremely annoying…the ones that should be sent to lamebook.com (which, by the way, is a real website)…the ones that just are plain atypical.

“Ugh. Got a 97 on the Spanish test. Goodbye 99 in the class. :(” – (Whatever will you do, especially since it’s only the beginning of the semester?)

Me: I heard you did well on the ACT! Congrats!Guy Who Scored 33: Yes I did do pretty well actually.-(You are very welcome.)

“Looking back on 2010, it was when I fell in love with an awesome liar, when I had my heart broken over a cheater and useless guy, when I went to homecoming with such a gentleman, when I realized…” (You realize your “ex” is still on your friend’s list and can see this, or was that supposed to be the point?)

Girl 1: I could tell *insert name here* today was making you pissed off! LOL your expression was funny but dont worry I wasnt mad at you!Girl 2: I KNOW!!11!!1 *insert name here* is really annoying I cannot stand her… (Again, you do realize the person you’re talking about can view this, seeing as how it’s on the Wall for everyone to see?)

“I’m applying to Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Cornell, Duke, MIT, and Brown. GA Tech as backup.” (Yes, of course you had to post this on your wall for everyone to see…yes, I understand perfectly.)

“This semester I resolve to score the following: 107 in AP Lang, 106 in Precalculus, 100 in Band, 109 in AP Physics, 101 in AP US, and 99 in Spanish. >_<” –(…isn’t there a journal/agenda where you can write this instead?)

Boy 1: Listening to music + quite day = RELAXINGBoy 2: quiet*Boy 1: ya opps lolBoy 2: oops*Boy 1: dam when did u become such a *insert Boy 3’s name* (Boy 3 is very strict on grammar) not that its a bad thing lolBoy 2: idk im just sick of people not being able to spell simple wordsBoy 1: OCD man lolBoy 2: No its not OCDBoy 3: You know, to be honest, when I first saw this status a few hours ago, I was about to correct you. 😛 But I was too lazy.
– (No comment…except I laughed out loud.)

The Cheating Hypocrite Posting on the Wall of his Patient Buddy:9/20/2009: Wow it took you 3 hours? It only took me an hour to do the stupid lab worksheet what do you NOT get?9/24/2009: Did you finish the powerpoint? And add the graphs? And make sure you put the observation table on the bottom.9/30/2009: Hey could you send me a copy of your essay?9/30/2009: Thanks it looks straightforward, oh and don’t forget to finish the report, I have a bad feeling we’re presenting tomorrow10/05/2009: Did you finish the powerpoint?10/09/2009: Did you finish the worksheet? Is that other girl going to email the answers or not, how can you be sure..(Sigh. Well, lazy students never prosper…)

Insert a very long argument between a boy and a girl that ranges from “U got fired at subway ugly loser” to “stop writing me poems I dont luv u that way lololol” to “Truth is, youre very cool, truth is I think you dont stand up for yourself, truth is I like you.” (Teenagers.)

“My brother and I out-talked a Jehovah’s Witness today! Add THAT to my bucket list!” (I don’t go around bashing other peoples’ religions…especially ones that are essentially the same under the whole Christian denomination)

Students taking the Scholastic Aptitude Test (known as the SAT Reasoning Test)

The dreadful time has come: deadlines.

Many college applications are due January 1st to January 15th. So for the high school seniors who procrastinated until the last minute (as usual), the last week of winter break can be hectic.

I humbly add myself to the list of seniors who are working on their applications right this moment, rushing to beat the deadline. However, I can solemnly swear I was not a procrastinator (a big one, anyway).

In fact, the reason my college applications and essays aren’t yet finished is simple: senior year.

No, not ‘senioritis‘ (which is a phenomenon of pure procrastination, carelessness, and excitement that arises in high school seniors due to the fact that graduation is only 9 months away).

I’m talking about:

SATs – October, November, December.

No, I did not take the SAT Reasoning Test all three months.

November I took the SAT Subject Test in Literature (and failed). Total studying time: over 35 hours

December I took the SAT Subject Test in US History (and did better). Total studying time: over 46 hours, including listening to Billy Joel’s “We Didn’t Start the Fire.”

Extracurricular activities. What is the point of Honor Society meetings again? Oh yeah. None.

5 AP Classes. Must pass Calculus quiz. Must study for Spanish. Must …

The list is getting long, so I’ll stop here.

It really is no wonder a number of seniors write finish their college apps 5 days before the deadline. Oh well, must go back to finishing the Cornell essay.